Mixed Vegetable Pakora

Vegetable Pakora with a cup of masala chai is comforting food on a pleasant evening. A vegan recipe that makes for a great party finger food. The standard Vegetable Pakora recipe calls for the use of mixed vegetables, chick pea flour and carom seeds. But I tend to tweak the recipe and add a few more spices to pep up the flavor.

In today’s Vegetable Pakora recipe, I used carrots, beans, cabbage and potatoes but you can also add raw plantain, eggplant, cauliflower and pumpkin. Make sure to use fresh firm vegetables. Chickpea flour and carom seeds are essential ingredients that make the pakoras visually appealing and appetizing. But do add an extra ingredient, dry fenugreek leaves aka kasoori methi to your pakora batter which will elevate the flavor of the pakoras by leaps and bounds. It adds depth of flavor and keeps you coming back for more.

Mixed Vegetable Pakora Recipe

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 15 min

Yield: 5

Main Ingredients:

Ingredients

• Carrots: 1 (large, peel and cut into thick julienne)
• French Beans: 8 (string and cut into 1 1/2" pieces)
• Potato: 1 (large, peel and cut into thick julienne)
• Cabbage: 1/4 head (cut into thick julienne)
• Chickpea flour: 1 1/2 cups (sengapindi/besan)
• Red chili powder: 3/4 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste: 1/4 tsp
• Carom seeds: 3/4 tsp (ajwain/vaamu)
• Hot oil: 2 tsps
• Salt: to taste
• Water: as required (approx 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup water)
• Oil: for deep frying

Method

1. In a bowl, add the chickpea flour with salt, chili powder, ginger garlic paste, carom seeds and hot oil. Add the thick julienne mixed vegetables to this mixture and mix.
2. Add little water and mix well that it coats the vegetables. Do not add too much water.
3. Heat enough oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel. It should be piping hot. Do the sizzle test. (Drop a little chick pea batter into the hot oil, if it sizzles and comes to the surface of the vessel, then the oil is ready for deep frying).
4. Carefully drop the chickpea flour coated julienne vegetables into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the vessel.
5. Reduce heat to medium and deep fry till they turn golden brown.
6. Use a ladle to turn them so that they cook all over.
7. Once they turn golden brown, remove on to absorbent paper. Serve as evening snack over a hot cup of masala chai.

Tips

• Adjust the quantity of chickpea flour according to the vegetables.
• Add few tbsps water at a time while making the batter. It should be like a paste that coats the vegetables and not like a runny mixture.
• You can add a pinch of roasted cumin powder.
• Use curry leaves if you do not have kasoori methi. If you do not have both curry leaves and kasoori methi, omit them and follow rest of the recipe